Getting to Germany 11
Arriving by Sea
There are ferry ports in many coastal
cities, including Kiel, Lübeck, Rostock,
Travemunde, and Sassnitz. The major
operators are DFDS Lisco, Scandlines,
Finnlines, and Color Line. Visitors
traveling to Germany by car from the
UK will first have to decide which
ferry crossing to use (unless using
the Eurotunnel). The shortest
crossings are from Dover to Ostende
in Belgium, or to Calais, in France.
However, these will also require a
fairly lengthy road trip. The Holland
route of Harwich to Hook is useful for
those starting their trip in Germany’s
northern region. For a direct ferry
crossing to Germany, Scandinavian
Seaways operates services from
Harwich and North Shields to
Hamburg. Travelers coming from
Ireland should first connect with a
ferry service from Dublin to England
before taking one of the options
mentioned above. The latest
provision to make a journey from the
UK to mainland Europe by car is by
using the Eurotunnel from
Folkestone to Calais. The car is
carried by train in just 35 mintues.
Arriving by Train
Long-distance trains called EuroCity
(EC) trains connect all important
German cities with major European
destinations. There are also overnight
trains (City Night Line) from various
European cities such as Amsterdam,
Copenhagen, Belgrade, Budapest,
Prague, Rome, Venice, and Vienna.
Eurostar’s high-speed passenger
service also offers many cheap
options for traveling by train.
The Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s
national railway company, operates
Below far left Airport display board showing
destinations and timings Below left Ferry
transporting vehicles, Konstanz Below center
Aerodynamically designed InterCity Express
Below Airline check-in counter, BerlinDIRECTORYAIRPORT INFORMATION
Berlin Schönefeld
0180 500 01 86;
http://www.berlin-airport.de
Berlin Tegel
0180 500 01 86;
http://www.berlin-airport.de
City Airport Bremen
0421 559 50;
http://www.airport-bremen.de
Cologne-Bonn
02203 40 40 01;
http://www.airport-cgn.de
Dresden
0351 881 33 60;
http://www.dresden-airport.de
Hamburg
040 50 75 25 57;
http://www.airport.de
Hannover
0551 97 70;
http://www.hannover-airport.de
Leipzig
0341 224 11 55;
http://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de
Nürnberg
0911 937 00;
http://www.airport-nuernberg.de
Stuttgart
01805 948 444;
http://www.flughafen-stuttgart.de
ARRIVING BY SEA
Color Line
http://www.colorline.com
DFDS Lisco
http://www.dfdslisco.com
Finnlines
http://www.finnlines.com
Scandlines
http://www.scandlines.com
ARRIVING BY TRAIN
Deutsche Bahn
01805 99 66 33;
http://www.bahn.de
Eurail Passes
http://www.eurail.com
Eurostar
http://www.eurostar.com
ARRIVING BY COACH
Busabout
http://www.busabout.com
Eurolines
http://www.eurolines.comhighly modern, high-speed trains,
the InterCity Express (ICE). The long
distance ICE network is also linked to
the international airport hubs of
Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. However,
ticket rates in the express trains are
quite expensive. Seat reservations are
recommended during the tourist
season and public holidays.
Train tickets can be bought and
reservations made through travel
agents or at the railroad station at
the Reisezentrum, which also acts as
an information center. Tickets can
also be reserved by telephone or
through the Internet, where a
detailed timetable can be viewed to
plan an itinerary. Eurail Passes, such
as the Eurail Global Pass, which
allows unlimited first-class travel in
21 countries, are also a good option.Arriving by Coach
Traveling to Germany by coach is not
a very enjoyable experience, as the
distances are often long and fares not
cheap when compared with low-cost
airlines. Eurolines is the provider of
international coach services to
Germany. A hop-on, hop-off bus
service, Busabout, serves Berlin,
Dresden, Munich, and Stuttgart.
Most towns have a bus station
located in the town center called
ZOB (Zentraler Omnibus Bahnhof ),
where timetables can be obtained
and tickets purchased. It is best to
inquire at the tourist information
center for travel details.